Is It Enough?
by sunsetRODEO
Summary: As a prisoner aboard a Royal Navy ship, Jack saves a girl from drowning. As her father dies in the incident, Jack cares for the girl as if she was his own. A sweeter, more sensitive side to Jack. My first Fan Fiction.
1. Marissa

Marissa

Marissa Beecham gazed out onto the clear blue waters of the Caribbean ocean. Her long, dark brown hair fluttered gently in the warm breeze that helped the _Fidelity_, the ship she was aboard, to sail. Anyone who knew fourteen- year- old Marissa could see in her emerald green eyes her innocence, purity, passion and fierce loyalty. Such a person was her father, Captain Terence Beecham of the Royal Navy.

Marissa had always known the world of gold braid and navy blue jackets, for she had grown up in it. When she was just seven years of age, her father took her on her first voyage, to America. She had enjoyed the long journey, but wasn't particularly enthralled by it. She had of course, preferred the warmth and sunshine of the place to the dreary rain of Portsmouth, England. But one thing that she certainly learned about, and cherished from her voyages, was pirates.

She was fascinated by them of course, but she never wanted to meet one. Marissa could just imagine herself fainting at the sight of one, never mind having to arrest and hang them, which her father did on a regular basis. She had never approved of public hangings, even as a small girl. She had refused to let her father take her. She knew that execution of any kind was cruel, unnecessary and above all, immoral. But besides that, she was afraid of them.

Little did Marissa know that she, in time, would be subjected to both of her above fears.


	2. An Early Wake Up Call

An Early Wake Up Call

He pushed open the door to Marissa's bedroom. Pale moonlight filtered in through the tiny gap. He closed the door quickly. The room was the first he had found below deck, and it would be convenient to hide in for a while. The wooden floorboards creaked under hi boot. He stopped. Could he hear someone breathing? Yes; he turned slightly, and could make out the definite bulk of someone in the bed. Male or female, he didn't know, it was difficult to tell in the dark. But the figure was relatively small, and slight. It seemed to be an adolescent.

He tiptoed round to the other side of the bed to get a better look. The sleeper was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, he saw that she had fair skin contrasting with her dark hair. The arch of her eyebrows was perfect and her nose straight and proportionate. His eyes strayed to her right hand which was resting on the pillow. On her ring finger, there was a beautiful ring. _What a pretty ring_, he thought. It was a thin silver band set with a single blue zirconia stone. He shifted in order to take a better look at it – and the girl's eyes flickered open.

For a few seconds she laid there, wide- eyed and silent. But as she grew knowledgeable of the strange man kneeling beside her bed, she opened her mouth and screamed. He shot out a rough hand and pressed it over her mouth, but a fraction of a second too late. A small shriek escaped from Marissa's lips, and the man panicked.

"It's alright, no need to scream, no need to be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you." Marissa lay perfectly still. She wasn't willing to trust what this man said, not while she couldn't see him properly.

"That's a good girl," he continued, speaking softly. "Now, I need a place to-"

"Marissa!" came the shout. Captain Beecham burst open the door, casting beams of moonlight on the intruder standing over his daughter.

Marissa saw, for the first time, the strange man in her cabin. He wore long brown boots, brown breeches, a dirty white shirt and a brown waistcoat. Around his waist hung a belt, attached to which were a pistol, a sword, a compass and various other items. His hair was long, dark and matted, with beads and coins woven into it, his goatee likewise. He had a small moustache on his dirty, tanned face and his eyes were framed by some strange black substance. In his hair was a faded red scarf, and in his other hand he clutched a grey tri-cornered hat. Marissa didn't know who this man was, but one thing was for certain; he was a pirate.

"Move away from her, filth!" Marissa's father spat, pistol drawn. The pirate obliged, hands raised.

"Marissa," Terence went on, eyes never leaving the pirate, "I heard a scream. Has he harmed you in any way?"

Marissa shook her head.

"No," she stuttered. "I- I'm fine."

"Honestly, Commodore, I'm no threat to you or your daughter, really-" the stranger began, but Terence cut him off.

"It's Captain-"

"Oh, really?" the other man said hastily. "Well, we have something in common then. Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service." He stuck out a dirty hand, expecting it to be shaken. He retracted it quickly upon seeing the look on Terence's face.

"Pirate, are you?" said the navy Captain, eyeing Jack with disgust.

"Well, yes, actually", said Jack. _I'll have to think of a better answer next time, _he thought.

"And what exactly were you doing in my daughter's bedroom?"

"I, er- that is to say-"

"Tell me the truth."

"I- I was just admiring what a pretty daughter you had. Oh- no, that came out wrong, I just-"

"Lieutenant!" barked Captain Beecham, cutting Jack short, "Take Mr. Sparrow to the brig. We'll decide what to do with him in the morning."

A younger man trooped in with several others, and the first nodded. They dragged and unresisting but unhappy looking Jack away.


	3. Sparrows and Ospreys

Early the next morning, Lieutenant Phillip Osprey trooped down the stairs to the brig on his Captain's orders. He had been told to interrogate the pirate as far as possible, without endangering himself. Phillip assumed there wouldn't be much chance of that happening, as Jack was locked up, and his weapons had been taken away from him.

"Morning, sir", said the lieutenant politely.

"How can I be of service?" replied Jack grumpily, disappointed to be awoken from his slumber. "Come to interrogate me, have you?"

"I like to think of it more as an interview," smirked Lieutenant Osprey, "shall we begin?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, actually. What were you doing aboard the Fidelity this morning? And, more to the point, what _exactly_ were you doing in Miss Beecham's cabin?"

"Well, it- it's not what you think, mate," stuttered Jack. He was telling the truth, it wasn't. "I was looking for a place to hide, that's all."

"And why is that, exactly?"

Jack sighed. Would it be worth telling the truth? All he had to lose was his pride. Well, and his life, once _The Fidelity _returned to shore.

"I lost my ship," Jack confessed, sadly, "in a game of chance."

The lieutenant almost laughed. "You _what_?"

Jack nodded in embarrassment. "I was drunk; I wouldn't have done it normally. Never trust a pirate, eh?"

"Of course. Who did you lose it to? One of your own crew members?"

"No, a stranger in Tortuga. I thought I'd win, to be honest with you. The only reason I did it. I even-"

"Why did you need to hide?" interrupted Lieutenant Osprey.

"He was looking for this; the man who was stole my ship." Jack reached into a deep pocket and pulled out an object wrapped in cloth.

The young lieutenant was now intrigued. "What is it?" he asked eagerly. Jack grinned.

"Now why would I be telling you that? All you need to know is that he wants it, and tried to kill myself and my entire crew to get his hands on it. I just swam to the first floating thing I saw. Will that be all?"

A ship approached on the horizon. With ripped sails, terrifying cannons and an even worse crew, it was preparing for an attack on _The Fidelity_.

"Marissa!" yelled Captain Beecham as he stormed into his daughter's room. Marisa looked up from the book she had been reading. "I need you to stay in here, darling and not worry." He turned to exit.

"Why, what's the matter?" Marissa enquired.

"Pirates," her father said reluctantly.

"Pirates? Are they anything to do with the one from last ni-?"

"No, I don't think so. Please don't be frightened, everything will be fine, I promise you."

He left, after kissing her briefly on the top of her head. He locked the door behind him.

Marissa's cabin lurched as a cannonball hurtled through the window, shattering glass all over the room. Terrified, she dived behind the bed for shelter.

In the brig, another one thundered through the wall of Jack's cell, smashing through the lock. Tentatively, he pushed the door and it creaked open. He gathered his effects, and tiptoed up the stairs to the deck, and as he pushed open the trapdoor he saw a scene of chaos and bloodshed. A body collapsed onto the trapdoor, slamming it shut. Jack eased it open and pulled himself out of the hole.

Back in her cabin, Marissa was panicking. A boot was coming in through her window, presumably attached to a body. She ran to the door and struggled with the handle.

"Oh, God…" she muttered as a pair of legs emerged through the window.

Jack edged into the shadows as a bullet whistled past his ear. He tried the doorknob behind him, exactly as he had done the previous night, but the door wouldn't budge. He took hold of it firmly and hurled his shoulder against it. The door burst open, knocking Marissa further into the room. Stunned, she looked at Jack, and then at the figure standing next to her window. Jack pulled out his pistol, shot him in the leg, grabbed Marissa's arm and pulled her out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Marissa demanded.

"Saving your life," Jack replied. They both ducked as a pirate swung down from the crow's nest, snatching Jack's hat as he passed.

"My hat! Stay here," he added to Marissa, who nodded.

"Marissa!" said a familiar voice. Marissa looked up to see her father standing over her. "I thought I told you to stay in the cabin."

"Well, I did, but-"

"Never mind," Terence pulled her to her feet. "We have to-" He didn't finish his sentence as he was dragged backwards by his hair by one of the attacking pirates. Marissa made as if to run after him, but Jack, complete with hat, reappeared and held her back.

"Wait for the opportune moment," he smiled. Marissa did not smile back. She kept her eyes fixed on the man holding her father. She saw him take a step back and draw his pistol. Her eyes widened.

"No," she breathed. She watched as the man shot her father. The bullet seemed to move in slow motion, spinning in mid-air, and then finally connecting with Terence's shoulder. The force of the shot flung the ship's captain into the sea. Marissa broke free from Jack's grip, and dove over the edge of the Fidelity. She landed in the cool water, and after emerging for a short breath, she plunged under the water, desperate to find her father. She swam deep and far, as far as she could go, until she felt herself losing consciousness. However, she pressed on, intent on rescuing her one surviving family member from death. As she reached a greater depth, she felt herself fading, going, until she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her middle. He swam with her to the surface, where she regained consciousness as her head broke from the water. She took in gulps of fresh air, and turned to face her rescuer. It was Jack. Marissa frowned.

"Stay there," Jack pointed to a large rock about two metres away. Marissa swam to it and clung to it. Minutes later, Jack re- emerged, holding Marissa's father. He swam to the rock, and placed Terence on it. Jack shook his head.

"He's dead." He looked at Marissa. "I'm sorry, I truly am."

"It's not your fault", Marissa said softly, and began to sob.


End file.
